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out of interest, why route 76 if there are only two in total!?
The most usefule addition to this article would be a map of the routes. I tried checking some of the references and external links, but kept getting dead links. I did find a good map of route 35 in Indiana at http://www.indianatrails.com/content/usbr35 but did not find a good national map. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Edknol ( talk • contribs) 18:55, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
@ SounderBruce: Is {{ USRD-wrongdir}}, which you added to this article, intended for U.S. Bicycle Routes? Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. Roads/Standards#Route description seems to be geared towards road routes but specifically says to start from the route's official zero milepost. So far, USBRs only have dedicated mileposts to the extent that they travel along dedicated rights of way. Bike paths don't consistently number mileposts in one direction or another. In one case I'm familiar with, the mileposts arbitrarily switched from south–north to north–south when the trail was added to a larger trail system.
If we're to go by unsignposted mileages, the cue sheets and maps that have been submitted to AASHTO so far have been inconsistent, for example:
– Minh Nguyễn 💬 06:47, 16 August 2021 (UTC)
There are a fair number of errors in the current USBR page and a large number of updates needed. As a volunteer for Adventure Cycling. While the page reflects some updates from late 2022, there is a large amount of missing history and context, I am not allowed to edit the page due to conflict of interest rules. I would like to partner with someone to supply them with correct and current information to update this page. I can offer specific corrections or provide text to cut and paste. ACAeditor ( talk) 22:26, 8 May 2023 (UTC)
There are a number of corrections required. Below is suggested text:
The United States Bicycle Route System (abbreviated USBRS) is the national cycling route network of the United States. It consists of interstate long-distance cycling routes that use multiple types of bicycling infrastructure, including off-road paths, bicycle lanes, low-traffic roads, and state highways. As with the complementary United States Numbered Highways system for motorists, each U.S. Bicycle Route is maintained by state and local governments and agencies. The USBRS is intended to eventually traverse the entire country, like the Dutch National Cycle Routes and the United Kingdom's National Cycle Network, yet at a scale similar to the EuroVelo network that spans Europe. In addition to several state Departments of Transportation (DOTs), the Adventure Cycling Association hosts a complete set of USBR maps listed state by state: https://www.adventurecycling.org/usbrsmaps
The USBRS was established in 1978 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the same body that coordinates the numbering of Interstate highways and U.S. Routes. The first two U.S. Bicycle Routes were established in 1982 and remained the only two until 2011. Steady growth and interest in the system has followed since. As of June 2023, 23 parent routes (one or two-digit numbers) and 20 child routes (spurs and parallel routes with 3 digit numbers or A appendages) extend 19,643 miles (31,626 km) across 34 states and the District of Columbia. The system, once fully connected, is projected to encompass well over 50,000 miles (80,000 km) of bike routes.
Like United States Numbered Highways and many national routing systems, the U.S. Bicycle Route system is designed to roughly follow a grid. Mainline routes are the major cross-country routes and are represented with one- or two-digit numbers. Even-numbered routes are planned to primarily run east–west, with low-numbered routes in the north and high-numbered routes in the south. Odd-numbered routes will primarily run north–south, with low-numbered routes starting in the east and ascending in number toward the west. Three-digit numbers are assigned to auxiliary routes, with the last two digits denoting the parent that the auxiliary connects to.
Auxiliary routes starting with an odd number are spur routes, either connecting two USBRs or leaving the primary route to a destination. Auxiliary routes starting with an even number leave the main route and rejoin. Some states have used an A to define these as alternates (e.g. USBR 50A).
Much like other routing systems, the grid is sometimes violated; for example, U.S. Bicycle Route 76 (USBR 76) is projected to turn to the north in Colorado and end in Oregon as opposed to California, south of (and temporarily concurrent with) USBR 20 but far north of USBR 50. This is because USBR 76 is a legacy route based on the Adventure Cycling BikeCentennial route created to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial in 1976. As with auxiliary Interstate Highways, two distinct U.S. Bicycle Routes in two different states along the same mainline route may share the same three-digit number without any plan to connect the routes. The first example of this repetition occurred in 2021 with the approval of USBR 230 in Ohio, which is not intended to connect to an existing USBR 230 in Wisconsin.
The existing
USBR 1 will be the easternmost route, though
USBR 5 will run farther east of it in Virginia and
the Carolinas. The westernmost and northernmost routes are
USBR 97 and
USBR 8, respectively, both of which are in the state of Alaska, but USBR 97 also enters Washington.
Outside of Alaska and Washington, the westernmost route is expected to be
USBR 95 and the northernmost
USBR 8.
USBR 90 is expected to be the southernmost route. Despite the analogy the system has to the U.S. Highway system, the USBRS's route numbers do not necessarily trace the same route as the corresponding U.S. Highway number; for example, while USBR 1 will run close to the East Coast and thus parallel
U.S. Route 1 (US 1), the projected route of USBR 10 generally follows
US 2.
In order for a route to qualify as a U.S. Bike Route, it needs to connect two or more states, connect multiple U.S. Bike Routes, or connect a U.S. Bike Route with a national border.
The USBRS was established in 1978 by AASHTO for the purpose of "facilitat[ing] travel between the states over routes which have been identified as being more suitable than others for cycling."
The first routes were defined in 1982:
U.S. Bicycle Route 1 (USBR 1) from
North Carolina to Virginia, and the stretch of
USBR 76 from
Illinois through
Kentucky to Virginia. These two routes remained the only routes in the system until 2011. In the interim, only minor realignments routing changes had been made in
Virginia.
AASHTO established a new task force in 2003 to study expansion of the system. The task force included state and federal highway officials and representatives from bicycling organizations. In October 2008, AASHTO approved a national-level corridor and route designation plan. Other organizations involved in the effort included state departments of transportation, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the East Coast Greenway, the Mississippi River Trail, and the Adventure Cycling Association.
In 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives proposed moving the U.S. Bicycle Route System under the authority of the FHWA as part of a new Office of Livability. In 2009, the FHWA published a new edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices that introduced a revised U.S. Bicycle Route shield. Compared to the 2003 edition, the new design swapped the bicycle symbol and route number.
In early May 2011, the first major expansion of the system was made. Five new parent routes, two child routes, and one alternate route were designated created, along with modifications to the existing routes in Virginia and the establishment of USBR 1 in
New England.
· U.S. Bicycle Route 1 now has an additional run from the state of Maine to New Hampshire plus short segments in Massachusetts, and full segments in Maryland, District of Columbia, Georgia, and Florida.
· U.S. Bicycle Route 1A is a sea-side alternate route for USBR 1 in Maine.
· U.S. Bicycle Route 8 runs from Fairbanks, Alaska, along the Alaska Highway, to the Canadian border. Changed to USBR 87 in spring, 2023.
· U.S. Bicycle Route 108 runs from its parent route in Tok, Alaska, to Anchorage. Changed to USBR 397 in spring, 2023.
· U.S. Bicycle Route 208 follows the Haines Highway from the Alaska Marine Highway terminal in Haines to the Canadian border. Changed to USBR 987 in spring, 2023.
· U.S. Bicycle Route 20 runs from the St. Clair River through the state of Michigan to Lake Michigan, and across Minnesota.
· U.S. Bicycle Route 87 follows the Klondike Highway from the Alaska Marine Highway terminal in Skagway to the Canadian border plus a segment in Washington State.
· U.S. Bicycle Route 95 follows the Richardson Highway from Delta Junction, Alaska to the Alaska Marine Highway terminal in Valdez plus a segment in Washington State and in California from the Oregon state line to south of San Francisco.
· U.S. Bicycle Route 97 is entirely within Alaska, and it runs from Fairbanks, through Anchorage, to Seward plus a segment in Washington State.
In 2012, the FHWA approved the use of an alternative U.S. Bicycle Route marker design on an interim basis. The alternative design departs from the longstanding "acorn" shape in favor of a Reuleaux triangle placed over a green background. As of 2021, the FHWA has given 13 states interim approval to use the alternative design.
Across 2013, several other additions to the system were made. After approval in 2012, signage for USBR 45 in Minnesota was completed in the summer. An expansion of USBR 76 into Missouri was signed in October, and both Tennessee and Maryland entered the system on November 5 with USBR 23 and USBR 50, respectively. Florida has also begun planning on four bicycle routes, including its stretch of USBR 1 and USBR 90.
This section needs to be rewritten in a south-to-north and west-to-east direction to meet Wikipedia’s quality standards for U.S. road articles. Please improve this section if you can. |
As of November 2022, there are 31 23 official parent routes in varying stages of completion. In areas where a specific route has not been approved by AASHTO, there is only a
prioritized corridor. The 24 20 existing
subsidiary and alternate routes are grouped with their one- or two-digit parents. Approved or signposted routes are located in the District of Columbia and 34 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, and West Virginia. Ohio has the most of any state, with eight seven active routes total. Ohio also has the most total distance (1,553 miles, 2,500 km).
I am the Adventure Cycling Association US Bicycle Route System Volunteer Coordinator. I am a volunteer with Adventure Cycling, have been working as a volunteer on the USBRS since 2004, and am not paid in any way by them or anyone else associated with the USBRS. I am a retiree and receive no income from any source other than pension, Social Security, and investments. I say this because I have been informed that I have a conflict of interest and therefore am not permitted to edit any pages associated with the USBRS. This despite the fact that I am actively involved with AASHTO, see all the USBR applications submitted by the DOTs, work directly with the DOTs in developing USBRS and in preparing their applications to AASHTO for USBR designation, and possess the historical documents associated with the USBRS and benefit in no way from providing this information to Wikipedia.
ACAeditor (
talk)
23:29, 16 May 2023 (UTC)